Xenosaga IV : Messor Pondera Fata
by Ikara-o-Kage
Summary: Akuba Haruseki. Ex-bodyguard and Currently the captain of The Joyeuse. Also the sister to the long dead brother whose soul now became a gnosis like human. She was a reaper, he was the angelic devil in our flesh. Now, it's the 'Reaper Balancing Fate.'
1. Meeting Brother

"This is E.S. Descerna. Over."

"E.S. Descerna, your request for permission to board has been granted. Welcome back, Lady Akuba."

"It's good to be home..."

The craft guided in smoothly to the ship's docking bay. It was black with markings of dark silver, and in the hand of the colossal machine was a scythe of the machine's stark contrast in color. Shades of ivory, white, and silver blended and wrapped together to create the light colored weapon.

Inside the craft, the pilot let out a sigh of relief. They had not seen 'home' in almost 3 months.

What is 'home' you ask? The daughter ship to the Durandal, the Joyeuse. Both ships appear the same except their coloring. Where as the Durandal is a crimson red, the Joyeuse is a darkened indigo, making it nearly impossible to see against the vastness of space if the 'wings' are in the right alignment. The Joyeuse was commissioned by none other then Gainun Jr. him self after the destruction of the Durandal during the incident with Abel's Ark.

Now however, with Little Master out in search of Lost Jerusalem, control of The Joyeuse was handed over to Mary and Shelly Godwin. Neither saw them self fit for full command of the vessel, and went in search of a former friend of Gainun and Little Master. This is where Akuba comes into play.

Akuba Haruseki, female dancer and reaper. The hired assassin of Dmitri Yuriev and his personal body guard, before the U.R.T.V.'s popped into the picture. One of few surviving victim's a brainjacking incident that was quelled my Yuriev himself. Akuba took up a scythe during the 'Nursing Plant Incident', in which she was present, in order to defend a single child that reminded her of one from her past before the mentally scaring event that erased half of her memory and all but the childs face with it. This is where E.S. Descerna's weaponry inspiration came from. Descerna's coloring however, came from her own.

Her hair was a dark silver with black tips, and her skin a perfect shade of ivory. Her hair was long enough to touch the floor when let from it's tight binds, binds which held it in her trademark three four-way braids. Her eyes however, were the only thing that didn't seem to fit into her complexion. They were a strange, criss-cross almost, of a gory red and a sharp amethyst. There was no pattern to the two colors either.

It was these eyes they gave her the title 'reaper'. Many said that if the Grim Reaper were to be born of flesh and blood, his eyes would mimic her own, and her incident of taking up a scythe against a testament was not the universe's best kept secret.

Akuba was also one of few people that got closed to Dmitri Yuriev, and the only one to come out unharmed and unchanged in anyway.

For now however, Akuba was home. She would stay here for the next 6 months and then she would dart off again for another 2 to 3 months. She had made it her personal mission to find Lost Jerusalem before Little Master. No one really knew why, but she was set on that goal and nothing was stopping her. But now, she had run out of leads as to where the last remnant of Earth was.

Akuba leaped out of her craft and started off to her quarters. She needed to rest for a bit before she went off to socialize with the crew or the sisters on the bridge. She would sleep in what she wore, wake, change, walk around lost in thought for a while, then be off to flit around like a social butterfly and get caught up on everything that has happened. Or she would have followed that routine, had every alarm on The Joyeuse not gone off at the exact moment her head hit the pillow. Akuba knew what was wrong. It was the new sensor system placed in The Joyeuse. It was there to alarm the crew if anything remotely similar to a Gnosis, a Vessel of Anima, an Emulator, or anything of that nature were to be around.

Now this very system was going off.

Akuba had one thought in her head.

They had found it.

They had run across Lost Jerusalem.

Now, she just prayed to whatever higher power may be that she was right...

'_Mental note, start working on my land speed._'

I was running toward the bridge, forget the Loop Line, I could run there faster then it could get me there complements of my location. The alarms had started to go crazy as soon as I laid my head on the pillow. I knew them like no other, they were our Ethereal Energy Detection System, or some non-sense name like that.

All I knew at that moment however, was that I was close to my goal. I wanted to beat Little Master there for my own reasons, one of them being I knew who was waiting there. KOS-MOS had been destroyed, but her soul would be there. As would chaos'. I had pulled some strings and gotten KOS-MOS body rebuilt, all I needed was her soul. And as for chaos… I knew his body would still be intact, I just had to get to him.

Most didn't know it but I was in Miltia when the conflict started. I was assigned by Yuriev himself to escort the U.R.T.V.s to their target location. I did just as I was told and watched the entire scene. I could do nothing but stand and watch, I was under orders not to interfere. So I watched as each one became infected, and they turned on me and on their leader. I grabbed Rubedo and ran, he had cut the link and started to walk off so he was now going to come with me. He and I managed to grab Nigredo along the way and we managed to make it out alive. It was then that I met chaos. '_Take the boys and leave me, you can't carry all of us back so take the two that need help._' My exact words I will remember forever… I never saw chaos or Cannan after that. I knew Cannan was dead now, but I could still find and thank chaos.

I finally reached the bridge and bolted off of the elevator to the highest vantage point in the room. What I saw shocked me. I had **not** found Lost Jerusalem. What I had found was the remnants of KOS-MOS mechanical body. They still held traces of the energies from almost a decade ago…

My head hung low and I grasped the edge of the controls in a death grip.

There went that dream…

"Pull her in and have her placed in a controlled condition room. I want nothing to happen to that body. If I find anyone other then myself, Mary or Shelly in that room, you will face something far worse then Little Master ever could be!"

I spun on my heel and was at the edge of the elevator when a connection came through.

"Hellooo? Everyone still alive?"

I stopped. That voice…

"Yeah we're here Little Master! We just found KOS-MOS body, or what's left of it. We were about to pull it in."

"Great! Do that and follow the detection system to Lost Jerusalem. I can see you from Asher, so floor it!!"

Now, that shocked me. I ran straight to my craft and leaped in, he would not beat me to the surface.

"Open the damn launch gates!! Now!!"

"A-affirmative. E.S. Descerna, you are clear to launch."

Her voice quivered. They knew that if Lost Jerusalem was near by that I would not stop till I was on it, and with it so close, trying to stop me in any effect was suicide because I had a one-inch punch that could crack your skull and snap your neck from the impact with the wall if I delivered it to your gut. I launched and sent a stream of energy into the control systems. Descerna was modified so I could use my own energy to increase performance. In this case, it was to propulsion. She shot off at a speed no other craft could attain and I zipped right by Asher. Rubedo knew why I wanted to get there as fast as possible. He vaguely remembers my telling chaos and Cannan to leave without me, but he knows I did.

I quickly landed on it's surface and ran through the maze like place that was between the nearest E.S. accessible point and where I knew they would be. There were no Gnosis to hinder me surprisingly; I thought the place would be swarming with them. I continued on until I saw a large crack in the wall to my right. I walked through it and onto Rennes-Le-Chateau. My thoughts had been too chaotic to register until I stepped out here. I felt something below me, something malicious. I knew it had to be the sealed dark intensions of the wills that were the Gnosis. I knew they would not break free so I continued on, following a gut instinct that told me where to go. I walked through a grassy path and saw a set of stairs. I walked down them and then through the memorials to the fallen people the original E.S. craft were named for. I continued and walked into the area ahead. I stopped when I saw what was there. I could see KOS-MOS tied to her stone cross, as if asleep and waiting to be awakened. And in front of her, was an open grave. Mary's grave. Sitting against this grave was the person I wished to see.

chaos…

Behind me the entire crew of the Elsa had arrived. I stood there, looking on in awed respect of the two before me. Rubedo had grown now, his merging with Albedo had given him back his ability to grow, so he stood at six inches my superior. He walked up behind me and laid a hand on my shoulder. I started to walk forward and stopped. The seal from earlier broke. I saw chaos's head shoot up, as did KOS-MOS', they knew what had happened. KOS-MOS seemed to flicker for a moment before she tore through the wires that held her to the stone cross. The fact that dust flew up from the ground when she landed told me she had somehow retrieved her rebuilt body from The Joyeuse. I was proud of my work only for a moment, because the next a young man in white with black hair walked in, his eyes closed, through a whole that had been busted in the wall to our left. To say the boy was handsome would do him no justice, but I knew that ethereal beauty anywhere…

_Lucifel_…

As that thought crossed my mind, he opened his eyes to reveal the mimic of my own.

_My little brother…_


	2. First Blows

I swear I stopped breathing in that moment.

Lucifel had died five years before the Miltian Conflict, I had watched him take his last breath…

So how had my long dead little brother gotten here….

Then it clicked.

"It's good to see you again sister. I have missed you in the past 29 years. I could only watch you. Such a painful thing, to only be able to watch someone you followed for so long…"

Lucifel was just like he was then, only older.

"Now I can be at your side again, isn't that a grand idea sister?"

I could do nothing but look. I knew what was sealed a few minutes before. It was Lucifel on the other side of the seal. I knew that I was missing a few vital parts to this puzzle, 'which ones' was the question. I was still frozen as Lucifel walked over to me and brushed his hand across my cheek. I flinched back then. His hand was ice cold, and the scent of salt was too strong to ignore… He was no longer human. All of the wills that were the gnosis… I knew what he had done. He was just as slick as his name-sake. I don't know exactly how he did it, but he had merged with all of those wills to create this new body and the power he now held with it.

"Sister? Is everything alright? Aren't you happy to see me?"

My body shook for a brief moment, and then I looked my lost brother in the eyes that so mimicked my own.

"No. Lucifel was the little brother that I watched die 29 years ago on a hospital bed of a disease that killed him before they could figure out what it was. I watched Lucifel take his last breath, his hand in mine and I felt it grow cold. But you. You're hand is colder then death, and you words flow like that of my little brother's name sake. You aren't Lucifel, you're a demonic bastard created by the wills of the gnosis being led to join as one! Lucifel died on that bed!! You aren't him!!! **YOU WILL NEVER BE LUCIFEL**!!!"

I drew back a fist and rushed forward. This creature was not Lucifel, he couldn't be… I slammed my fist into the center of his face only to meet air. He had moved at the last second.

"Sister… Your words hurt. It is true, I died on that bed so many years ago, but now I have returned. Not even the two beings that God gave the power to save existence to could contain all the power created by the wills of the Gnosis. I merely convinced them that we should be given a second chance to walk among man, and told them that we could create another body for all of us by joining as one. And is it not human desire to be in control? I merely separated myself from the mass and joined my soul to the body they created for me. The human heart is wicked, Akuma, and all it took was for me to trick them into creating my body to silence them and give myself the power to rise again."

"Do not **ever** call me that name again. Akuma died at the bedside of her brother Lucifel. Akuma was a simple young girl who wanted to heal those who were hurt. I am a killer. A former bodyguard and assassin. **Akuba** stands before you, **Akuma** died 29 years ago."

I saw a small smile slip onto his lips, and then he directed it at me. I glared at the face that 29 years ago I would be grinning at.

"Very well, sister. If it is Akuba you go by now, then I shall call you Akuba."

"Get it through your head idiot, you're not her brother. Her brother died years ago, you're just a lucky fool who took on his face."

I was shocked to hear Rubedo speak up for me like that, it was just something he never did.

"This matter does not concern you boy. Stand aside. She is a grown woman, she can defend herself and make her own calls. Do not try to make them for her."

… and the demon before me bit the bait. It was Rubedo's way of getting someone out of something. I knew one thing, this had to end soon…

"Rubedo. Don't."

He looked at me like he was about to lop my head off with his bare hands for calling him by his given name, but his eyes held confusion. I never called him that unless I was deadly serious about something. He took a step back to acknowledge my wish. I looked the demon before me in the eyes again, and spoke one word…

"Absum."

… and hurled an ether generated FAE at him. He knew what that was but at our close distance, he didn't have time to move out of the way. It struck him and his body disappeared. I knew he wasn't dead however. I wasn't that confused by the days events. I looked from where he last was to chaos. He knew what was going on and that he would have to explain all the details later.

My eyes then traveled to KOS-MOS in her new body. It was similar to her Version 3 body, only differing in few small aspects that were from Version 1's appearance. A single mark on her cheek however showed that she was no longer a part of Vector or the government, but was instead her own being. It was made to resemble a scar she would have received from Tel-os in their second battle when she received a blade across the face. She knew that we had her body recreated, and she also knew that the place was unstable because of where my FAE hit.

"We must leave. This structure could collapse at any point in time."

I nodded and turned, I would ask chaos later about how my brother had come to be in our realm again…

--

I had been laying in my room for three hours now. Both Asher and Descerna were in the docking bay and were being tuned up, especially when you consider the fact that they are probably about to be put to good use. chaos had promised to drop by my room and tell me the details as to why Lucifel was back in this world, but he had yet to show.

I was about to roll over and take a nap until he got here when I heard a knock on the door.

"Enter."

And just as I thought, chaos walks in.

"It's about time, I was about to take a nap waiting for you. What took you other then the obvious?"

Yes, now I knew what took him so long, he was getting clothes. This time though, they weren't mainly blue, gold, and white; they were mainly black, and they looked good on the little contradicting ex-fail-safe.

"Sorry, it took a bit longer then I thought it would to find something I liked. Now, you wanted to know all the details to Lucifel's reappearance?"

"Yes I did. Share time, have a seat and start talking."

I patted the edge of my bed for enforcement on my suggestion. He took a seat at the end and leaned against one of the poles that sat at the corners of my large canopy bed. He cleared his throat and I sat back against the headboard of my bed. Then he began…

"It's not really a long story, but it is confusing if you know all the details. It's even worse if you don't know them all. I'm still missing a few pieces to the entire puzzle myself, but I'll tell you what I know.

"When we shifted all the wills of the gnosis to Lost Jerusalem, it was almost like something else slipped in at the last moment. I felt the darker presence slip into the area we shifted, but I thought nothing of it, thinking it was perhaps a former criminal's will that became a gnosis. I was wrong however. Once we made it here, I realized that it was a soul that had slipped in with us. After having my power of Anima released, I could see souls, or at least this one for some reason. He looked just as he did when you saw him. I managed to capture his soul inside a box like structure along with all the wills that for some reason didn't disappear when we arrived.

"All the gnosis we're set free, their souls set at ease for eternity. But a rather large majority of the wills we brought with us did not. Myself and Nephilim sealed them in the box with his soul, as both she and I saw it as too malicious to allow freedom. I don't know what he managed to do while inside there anymore then you do."

I saw chaos' facial expression slip into one of confusion. Even he didn't know exactly how Lucifel came into our realm…

"But, I do know this Akuba. He is still your brother, albeit no longer human, but a gnosis like human. He is about as close to a natural demon as we'll ever see. I don't know why he is here, nor do I know what he plans to do, if anything at all. But he is a threat, and even you know what that means."

My eyes hardened for a brief moment at the thought of what I would have to do. I wouldn't like doing that to one who so resembled my brother, who was my brother in essence. I hated the very thought of it…

"It means we'll have to find him and kill him. He is too dangerous now to be allowed to live…"

"Exactly. As much as I hate to say it, and you know it as well, the job of ending his life will fall to you…"

I was about to ask him if it would be wrong to kill your own kin if they were a threat, but I didn't get the chance as someone knocked on the door. My eyes traveled to the said slab on hinges as I spoke.

"Enter."

And to my surprise, in walked KOS-MOS. Her eyes traveled to and met mine.

"Akuba. You're presence is required on the bridge. Representative Helmer wishes to speak with you."

I nearly screamed when she said that. Helmer was supposed to pay us a visit, but they were supposed to come get me when he got here! I mumbled a rather dirty curse under my breath and shot out of my bed to the other side of the room. I grabbed my jacket and gloves and bolted off toward the door.

--

"She isn't going to like the truth of this matter…"

I glanced at KOS-MOS and noticed she was watching me. I stood up and tapped my new boots on the ground to wake up the appendages inside them.

"There is a high probability that she will not some out of this entirely sane. All records of siblings having to take the life of the other have resulted in an unstable mindset that not uncommonly leads to an early death."

"I know KOS-MOS, I just hope she comes out of it alive…"

--

I rushed onto the bridge, out of breath and propped on my knees trying to catch it. I looked up at Helmer and, between breaths, spoke.

"Evening. Do you make a habit of showing up places unannounced?"

The black man laughed hardily, and then looked me in the eyes. We were pretty good friends so actions like that were overlooked. I stood up and walked over to him. I knew why he was here, he did this ever so often to make sure The Joyeuse was in working order and that there were no issues with the crew. He also came to relax a bit. Sadly he wouldn't be able to relax for a while. I took that opportunity to explain the current situation and about how Lucifel was back in the picture. He had heard about the incident with the unknown disease that had taken him from us.

After a long run down on our situation, I led him to his room and then left for mine. We were headed back to the Foundation and would arrive in about 3 days.

I flopped down onto my bed and nearly fell asleep when I heard a tapping sound come from my desk. My bed had curtains on it, so if anyone walked into my room and seen them closed they would know I was asleep. All but one of them were closed now, since I was about to take a nap, and I couldn't see my desk. I pulled back one of the curtains enough to see who was there, only to see my dearest little brother sitting there. His face held a smile on it and he was tapping his nails on my desk just as I used to, and still do. I was frozen in shock and just stayed there staring at him.

"Surprised to see me, Akuba-san? I thought I would drop by and surprise you with a visit. That FAE didn't feel too good you know."

I reached slowly for the gun Rubedo had given me three years ago. I slept with it under my pillow at his request, he didn't trust all of the staff on his own ship, but now I was glad I had done so. My earlier conversation with chaos told me that he was too strong for me to take on, so being armed was a must.

"Now, do you really think a gun is going to help you sister? I'm not going to hurt you unless you give me reason."

I stopped when I had the gun an inch from my finger tips. He could tell I was going for it? How did he even know I had it? I mumbled a very dark curse under my breath and bounded off my bed and toward the door. As expected, he intercepted me and I introduced his face to my fist. This time it hit, and I from there threw him out of the path of my door and bolted down the hall. He intercepted me again and I merely took to the wall, I was moving just fast enough to stay up there long enough to get around him. I went to the ceiling and then dropped down to continue on the ground. He seemed to be slightly annoyed by this, so I picked up pace. I was headed to the one place I knew Rubedo would be, both he and chaos would be in the training rooms he had placed near the end of the ship. Rubedo would be target practicing, and chaos would be training himself in his own way to prepare for the threat that was my brother.

I then flew into the wall. My 'dearest little brother' had intercepted me again and this time put a halt to my flight. I knew that my shoulder was dislocated from the impact but I could not stop running. I picked myself up only to be put back on the ground by his pearl white boot. I felt a rib crack when he did so.

"Now, now Akuba. Why are you running? I just wanted to talk to you. To see how my elder sister had been doing in the past 10 years. Is that so wrong?"

I glared at him from my current position on the floor, that single fact took a lot of the bite out of it too. I had to get to someone, so I did the one thing I knew someone would notice. I picked up my fist as high as I could and generated a small FAE in it where he couldn't see. Then…

I slammed it through the floor.

The shock wave off ether energy generated set off the E.E.D.S. and the force shook the ground enough o set off the other warning systems. I grinned from my current position and raise my now bloody fist out of the ground, cutting it far deeper in the process. He knew he had to leave now.

"Very well, it seems that is wrong in your eyes. I shall see you later then, Akuba."

I watched as he faded away just in time to not be seen by Rubedo and chaos as they rounded the corner at the end of the hall. KOS-MOS however had seen him thanks to the cloaking technology I personally wove into her new body system. She dropped the cloak and lifted me up form the ground, being careful of the ribs and my shoulder as she did so. I forced a lot of energy into that FAE in order to set off the E.E.D.S. so I was tired, far more now then before. I saw Rubedo and chaos in my peripheral vision come up to check on me just before I feel asleep against KOS-MOS cold metal frame.

* * *

Hehe. I good. Yes. I very good. I managed to get this one out of my head and onto the laptop today. I like how it came out. Also, the title and the summary are linked thanks to the last little phrase. '**Messor Pondera Fata**' means '**Reapers Balancing Fate**' in latin. She has a little nickname of being called a reaper and they both have the same eyes that people call the grim reaper's eyes. So yeah. But anywho!! Hope you liked teh first actual chapter!! Reviews make me happy so please give them. If you write stories as well, and see where I can improve, say something. I will even take flames. I will use them to roast bad ideas and cook them into new great tasting ones!

* * *

Hey, had to fix a few things like years... 19 puts it in the same time as the series. 29 puts it 10 years after which is where this story takes place. So yeah, everyone is a little bit older and little bit wiser. Sorry for any confusion!!


	3. Dream Marks

_I could hear voices…_

_One stood out however._

_**Lucifel**__._

_I was back home. Back in Miltia before the conflict. I remembered this day. I had fallen down the stairs from my brother running up to me and hugging me, my fall had knocked my unconscious. Mother and Father would be to my right, and my baby brother would be hovering over my head waiting on me to wake up. I knew this was only a memory, one brought back by Lucifel's reappearance._

_I opened my eyes however and saw nothing. Only shades of dark purple, red, and black. I saw my brother standing not too far from me. A light smile on his face, his hands in his pockets._

"_Remember this place, sister? I do. It is where I meet Miri and Kyu. You remember them right?"_

_Yes. I remembered the two twins perfectly. They became a second and third presence in both mine and my brother's minds. How? I never figured it out. But they left when Lucifel did, and that left me truly alone…_

"_So you do remember them. That's good. Because they, too, remember you. You're lucky. You will get to see them again soon. They have decided to join me, as you won't, so they will accompany me to visit you on the Foundation in three weeks. Meet us at the old fountain that we played in when we visited the first time, you remember that right?"_

_I nodded my head. He knew I did. I could never forget the day. The place on the Foundation was a replica of a place on Old Miltia, so I would have no problem finding it. I spent many days there thinking when I was on the Foundation. _

"_Good. I'll see you there then. For now though, I think it is time for you to wake up…"_

_He walked toward me at a pace I could never fathom and embraced me, only to push me away after placing a small, brotherly kiss on my neck…_

Then I woke up.

--

I stirred slightly, my body complaining about being woken in such a manner, but my mind was glad to be free form his hold again. My brother was crafty, that was for sure…

"Akuba? You with us?"

I growled out a yes and glared through tired eyes at Rubedo. I saw a small grin slip onto his face when he noticed the glare.

"Yep. She's with us."

I nearly chuckled, and probably would have anyway if it wasn't for the brief pain in my shoulder… Wait just a damn second.

I sat up quickly and tore the sleeve of the white shirt I had been placed in completely off, leaving my shoulder bare. I glared at what was now a part of my skin.

"Damn him. The fucker marked me."

They all gave me a look that claimed I had lost my marbles.

"Damn who? And what do you mean 'marked'? There's nothing there!"

I looked at him in a manner that replicated the thoughts they now held of me. 'Are you insane?' Though apparently I was the only one that could see it. Clever bastard my brother was…

"Never mind. Mental trick played by my dear little brother. He visited me in a dream after his little stunt in the hallway. KOS-MOS caught it thanks to the new cloaking system she has, chaos and Jr. just missed it."

I climbed off the bed and walked across the room to grab another t-shirt from a drawer. I noticed my hand and ribs where bandaged, the later covering my chest and right shoulder. That meant I was covered so I shed the now torn shirt and tossed the other over my left shoulder. I was covered so I didn't care. I trusted the people in the room.

"Ok, so let me get this straight. Your 'dear little brother' paid you a visit on the ship and then in your dreams. In the later he left you with a mark only you can see. In the former only KOS-MOS was witness because of some new trick you outfitted her new body with. Am I right so far?"

I nodded my head and turned to face them, grabbing a black bag as I did so.

"Mmhm. Exactly. I can run an Encephalon Dive and get the footage if you need proof. He was here and the mini-FAE was to get rid of him."

Jr. shook his head at me and I walked back to my bed, the bag in hand and sat down. I pulled the bag onto the bed and unzipped it. Inside where four swords. Jr. gave them to me after the whole Michtim bit, he said they belonged to an excellent swordsmen and scholar by the name of Jin Uzuki. He gave them to me because he knew I could properly care for them, these were my four faves because they had some connections to each other. They were the Kagura and Sanju sets. The connection? No clue, but the names were a dead give away.

I pulled each blade from their sheathes and placed them on the bed. I wasn't going to use them, never would I wield a blade that was not my own at the start. My baby was under the covers so no one knew it was there… Geeze Akuba, real nice. Remembering that before would have really helped.

I sighed and started to polish the blades.

"Anyway. Are there anymore questions?"

"One."

"Shoot."

"More of a statement really but… The markings are showing now."

"Oh… WHAT!?"

I glanced down at my shoulder and noticed the marks were glowing. Apparently they were reacting with the blades, as they too glowed the same color.

"The connection… These blades were forbidden to be looked upon or touched once created. '_Only the god of the sword may wield such weapons. And only he may chose their wielder._' The old legend and the mark are connected. But why?"

Now I was confused. I knew the connection now, though. They were the ancient 'God Blade' set…

Ok, so what does that have to do with the mark? Thanks to chaos for answering my thoughts…

"That mark is one of a true demon. Only one was allowed on Earth during human times, and he bore that mark. The blades are holy, so the mark reacts."

"Ah. Thank you for telling me that. And I suppose I will glow black if something hellion is near?"

"Probably."

"That's why he gave it to me then. Now I know when he is near."

Clever ass. I give you credit…

--

I drew my blade from her binds and examined the blade.

I could take her with me in Descerna, but never did. She was safer here. So I left her here.

I moved the blade to a fighting stance and held it in a fighting form. Not many could wield a blade in these times, not properly anyway, and I was one of the few, despite my imperfections with the skill.

Then the music started. It was something I found on a digital artifacts site. Something about music from the second millennium or round bouts. All I knew is that I liked it.

I followed the beat of the drums in the music, allowing it beat away my worries and fears. I began to dance with my sword in hand, attacking an invisible opponent with the blade in perfect sync to the music. I was skilled with many weapons. A sword, a scythe, a gun, and ether F.A.E.'s were my main skills.

I felt something shift. It wasn't something human or malevolent. I was something different…

_He betrayed us._

Who betrayed you? And who are you?

_He betrayed the angels and he then betrayed man. He betrayed us._

Betrayed the angels… Lucifer? He betrayed us… **Lucifel**…

_Yes. They are one and the same. He betrayed us._

I looked behind me to see what looked like an Azazel gnosis, only the edges were softer, faded. And the green toward the back of the Gnosis' form was now gold and flowing, and faded as well. I realized then that I was looking at something different. This wasn't a gnosis…

_Correct._

The spirit's head tilted up and I saw something that I didn't think I would get to see again. I saw a friend of mine from the past, only older. She had come in contact with a gnosis. _Brittany_… or 'Betty' as she was called by Rubedo after they found her half transformed body.

"Brit?"

_Yes. I'm glad to see you remember me. I come bringing bad news however…_

"What is it?"

_Lucifel has not only made a new body for him self, but he has made a pact with his name-sake… He can summon demons and create them from fallen souls like my own… It was he that sent me actually…_

Oh god… I watched her form shift and the E.E.D.S. went off. She was one of these new demons that he had created…

"BRITTANY!!!"

I nearly broke down in tears. He was taking everything from me! He was taking it and tearing it apart right in front of me! I fell to the ground, my blade still in hand, as the rest of the group burst into the room. chaos knew what this was, but he didn't know _who_ it was. They rushed it, about to tear it apart, or try at least, and I stopped them.

"No… I'll do it. My brother did this. And she was my friend. I'll do it…"

I lifted myself off the ground and held my blade in a fighter's stance. I looked through my blackened bangs at the creature my brother had turned my closest child-hood friend into.

"… Farewell Brittany."

The marks began to glow black and I knew her transformation was complete. I felt them shift and spread to cover my entire body and then shift onto my blade as well. My brother was still alive when _Lucifel_ gave me these marks. They would help me as well as perform their original purpose…

I rushed toward the demon before me and clashed my blade against the claws that formed. I had to convince myself that this wasn't her…

…_**You aren't Lucifel…**_

It wasn't Brittany…

…_**you're a demonic bastard created by the wills of the gnosis being led to join as one…**_

This was merely a demon that my brother created…

…_**Lucifel died on that bed…**_

She died the minute this thing was brought into being…

…_**You aren't him…**_

This wasn't her…

…_**You will never be Lucifel…**_

I pulled the blade back and slammed it down, taking it through the claws of the beast before me. This wasn't her. It never would be. My marks shifted again and I felt a power rush through my veins that I had never known before…

A holy power…

I rushed past the demon's now clawless hands and slammed the blade through it's chest. The power I felt exploded and the creature screamed…

No. That power wasn't holy. It wasn't sacred…

That was the power of the human mind and it's ability to change reality…

I wanted her to not be the demon enough that it became so…

…

Feh. I wish.

I twisted the blade the body burst into white-hot flames. This power wasn't holy, that much I knew. The only thing I knew is that the power came from the marks…

I pulled the blade from the burning body and walked over to it's sheathe on the wall…

"Um… Akuba? You alright?"

I picked up the sheathe and laid the blade in it's case, watching the reflection of my eyes in the last inch as I spoke…

"I'll be fine. Brittany is resting now, that brings some semblance of piece to my mind. Lucifel is doing this for another reason than to torture me, but has retained his sanity to some extent. He gave me these marks and the ability to use them to my advantage. I will be using them every chance I get to figure out what they do and how to use them in any situation. He gave me these marks. I will use them to kill him. He has taken enough away from me; he deserves much worse. For his crime against me, I will use the gift he gave me to kill him. Vain little bastard thinks he can't be killed… Just wait… He will die on the Foundation… That much I will see to…"

So what, I was loosing it. Albedo would probably be questioning my sanity at the point. But I no longer cared…

I snapped the last inch of the sword into it's sheathe and turned to walk out the door. They stood their watching me. Rubedo had a pained look because he knew what was happening to my mental stability. Shion and the rest were questioning my sanity and chaos knew why I was like this. I never was mentaly stable… This had just set off one of my mental shifts… I'd be back to normal tomorrow...

* * *

Hm. Not as good as I wanted it, but it will do. Critques are appreciated!


	4. Changes

"Alright KOS-MOS. Let 'er fly…"

I was currently taking notes and statistics on KOS-MOS new weaponry. I had kept a few aspects from her version one body, but since I didn't have all the data for it I had to run a few tests and such to make sure her new body was in working order. I was also upgrading her new weaponry when I got the data form these tests. Shion was helping me since she knew more about KOS-MOS then I did on most areas.

"Affirmative. Beginning X-CANNON test."

I nearly grinned. I was on the Elsa to do these tests, so KOS-MOS was on the cargo elevator. I counted down the seconds until she unleashed the attack that would easily take out one of my brother's dear little 'demons'…

Step one. Charging.

Step two. Adjust the target range.

Step three. Fire.

I felt the ship jerk and I landed on my ass, along side Shion.

"YES!!!"

"Dear Lord. Is that much power really necessary?"

"Yes."

I turned my head, grinning all the while, to see chaos walk in the door.

"The creatures Akuba's brother has created are not 'demons', per se, but they are equal in power to the creatures of the ancient myths. They are the souls of the Gnosis brought back into this realm and given a semi-physical existence, which is why your friend's soul took on an appearance so much like a Gnosis."

Ok, that as news to me…

"So that is why Brittany looked so much like a Azazel…"

I trailed off. Once again I had fallen into the world of memories…

Only this time, it was of my slaying her last stand in this existence…

"Akuba?"

I felt a hand land on my shoulder and I snapped back into this realm.

"Sorry, memories just kinda…"

"It's alright. I understand…"

I stood up and helped Shion to her feet.

"Alright. Let's finish these tests and then get her fully upgraded…"

--

I was once again training in the facilities. Only this time I was using hand to hand combat. chaos had decided to join me for this one, and for that I was thankful…

Jab.

"You know something chaos…"

Caught it. Side kick.

"I know lots of things, which on are you talking about?"

Jumped over it. Landed safely.

"Tch. I'm just glad you ran across us that night in Miltia. A lot of things would be different if you hadn't…"

Released and pushed away. I jump. Trademark axe kick.

"True,"

Blocked. Upper cut from me to him.

"But why does that warrant thanks?"

Hit the mark. Stand off.

"I don't know. I just felt that I owe it you, at least that much."

Twin grins.

"Hm. You don't owe me anything, but you're welcome."

I chuckled lightly and walked toward the wall where I had a bottle of water waiting on me. I felt him walk up behind me and lay a hand on my shoulder. I turned to see him staring at me with a slightly worried yet eager expression…

"chaos… What's with that look…"

"I was thinking, and I think I know what the white power that you released was…"

That caught my attention…

"Ok. Shoot. What is it?"

"You're one that is always preaching about balance, you tell me…"

"Huh?"

Damn, he as confusing at times…

"Devil is to God, what demon is to what?"

Holy Perfection?

"Um? Angel?"

"Yes. UDO and the Power of Anima were counter parts. The power your brother has, and the power you have hold a similar bond."

Wait… Now it clicks.

"So the power I had was holy?"

"Not quite. It is the rough equivalency of an Angel's power, where as your brother's is that on a demonic stand point. Make sense?"

"Yeah… I think…"

"You're lost aren't you?"

Yep. It's official. He knew me waaay too well…

"Yep."

"Then think of it this way. Your power was born of hate, sadness, and rage. His power, was born of lust, love, and env-"

"Wait. Love? How does that one work…?"

"Akuba. He loved you more than anything else, he wanted to see you again. He envied you to the point that he fell for your natural faults and grew to desire what he could not have. His love of you shifted to a want to have it so the two of you lived forever…"

"So… He wanted power so he could get me to come with him and we could both be immortal?"

"Basically. And that is where his power has its roots."

"Ok. Let me give my end a shot. My power was stemmed from my hate of him for bringing back the past I tried to repress. My sadness for the loss of my closest friend and seeing her again, and my rage at him for taking her and using her against me. Am I right so far?"

"So far, yes."

"Good. But… that sadness and rage wasn't only at her loss… but at the thought of loosing him to himself and to his own power…"

"Exactly."

"And I hated the fact that I might truly loose him… So my power manifested itself in the marks and came to me through the dream he gave me… He knew it was there and he knew I wasn't going to come with him. His love for his family convinced him not to push me into coming. He wanted companions so he brought Miri and Kyu into our realm… We both suffered from schizophrenia as children, Miri and Kyu were the voices in our heads… our bond was strong enough that we shared our internal thoughts… and our habit of wanting what was best for the other, even if we didn't want it… Both were born of greed, and now for a longing of revenge against each other for taking each other away from ourselves… His sickness, the one he gave into, is what took him. If he had continued to fight, he would still be here, I wanted revenge against him for leaving, because I was greedy and wanted him to stay no matter what… He wanted revenge against me for moving on and leaving him behind… because he wanted me to remember him forever… Our sins are our power… His and mine… It is the same, just different applications…"

"Correct."

I was floored. I now knew what my power was… and how I attained it, but what I wanted to know is why I was destined to use it against my brother…

Wait…

Lauren's little myth that she found…

_'…When both realize the sin. And both embrace the cost. Then one will overcome, and one shall fall from grace. Both will dance in a storm of hate. And each shall pour with a second rain. Twin souls dance, blood and pain…'_

"Shit…"

"Something wrong?"

"No. Just realized something."

"Hm?"

He tilted his head for an added effect and I decided to turn his own words against him.

"You're the one that preaches prophecy. You tell me."

I turned and walked toward the door.

--

_'…Sin and disgrace. Death and sickness. Demon and Angel, voices within. Twin eyes dance, twin swords fall, powers collide and end it all. Death shall reign no more, its masters taking the ground. Physical form and flesh and blood. Sin becomes fleshly bound. Twin faces, body and mind. When both realize the sin. And both embrace the cost. Then one will overcome, and one shall fall from grace. Both will dance in a storm of hate. And each shall pour with a second rain. Twin souls dance, blood and pain…'_

* * *

Well. I am terribly sorry for the wait. I hope you liked this chapter. I kinda backed myself into a wall with it and had to crawl out of it. I was listening to a Xenosaga playlist and playing AQWorlds. Poof. Idea. Tryed to sleep, failed. Started writting. Hope you liked. Sorry it is so short. .


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